What is a Documentary?

What do you think a documentary film is? Why are they interesting and important? Please list 3 different reasons in detail and your justification for each.

I think a documentary film is a video that discusses a certain real-life topic providing specific details regarding the topic. They are interesting because they often focus on specific topics that are often less known to the public. If the video is short, it gives a good overview of the topic. If the video is long, it gives the detailed specifics about the topic. They are important because they give the audience a well rounded idea of the topic. Because documentaries require the creator to research the topic thoroughly, their knowledge gets directly translated to the film. They are interesting because documentaries cannot be fully planned from the beginning. The film will always be influenced by the uncontrollable circumstances.

Storytelling Unit Wrapup

What are 3 things that you've learned in the storytelling unit? What are 2 things that you'd like to learn more about? What is one thing you're still unsure about? Why? Please be specific and use vocabulary you've learned in the unit so far.

What I learned

1. Show Don't Tell

2. Actions are louder than words

3. Good artists borrow, great artists steal

What I want to learn more about

1. The effects of color and combination of colors in storytelling

2. Lighting techniques that tell different aspects of the character in the story

What I'm still unsure about

1. Character developement

Although we learned many different types of conflicts a character can go through and some of the typical archetypes, I don't understand how to adjust that into my own storytelling. I feel like I simply know rigid facts without understanding the application of it.

Ira's Advice

How does Ira's advise relate to what you are going through in the class so far? What are the key points that he mentions in the video? How could they be applied to you? What part of his advise seems helpful?

So far in my creations that I've made, I never had a product that I fully loved. I always had some sort of flaw to critique, some regretful decision I made, etc. It frustrated me that no matter how hard I tried, I was never satisfied with the end product. In the video, he repeatedly emphasized that EVERYONE goes through the phase of being unsatisfied with their work. He also mentioned that successful creators pushed through these times to get to the place they are today. This can be applied to me because occasionally, it feels as though my work will always be unsatisfying. Watching already successful filmmakers can ruin self esteem. However, knowing that even those "successful filmmakers" I see online most likely went through a phase of dissatisfaction encourages me to keep making films. 

Samurai Films and Star Wars

How did Kurosawa influence George Lucas? What parts of the samurai film did Lucas incorporate into Star Wars? What is the most interesting thing that you learned in this video?

George Lucas found Kurosawa's Seven Samurai and fell in love with it. Lucas gets his inspiration from Kurosawa in his Star Wars as seen from "jidai" and the sword fight scenes. Storm troopers were modeled after samurai armies and Yoda was characterized after another character in the samurai film. I found it interesting how many of these aspects of the film were incorporated into the film.

The Hero's Journey

What is the hero's journey? What parts of the structure stand out and seem the most important to you?

A hero's journey is series of multiple steps a generic hero takes throughout the story. This includes existing in an ordinary world, getting a call to adventure, refusing the quest, accepting the call, entering the unknown, etc. I thought the refusal to accept the quest was the most significant. This adds more realism to the character because it is natural for anyone to fear the unknown at first.
Refusing the accept the call encourages the audience to relate with the character as well as support the character to accept the call.

Character Archetypes

Which archetype seems easiest to write? Which do you think seems the most difficult? Why? What archetype do you understand the least? Why? What kind of hero's do you like telling stories about?

The Hero's Journey seems easiest to write because it can be shaped into a form that allows the audience to be indulged into the righteous character. This archetype requires the main character to have admirable traits which is relatively restricted to certain characteristics. I think Meeting Ourselves in Shapeshifters is the hardest because it is mostly based upon psychological transformation. This is also the archetype that I understand the least because it involved the concept of animus which I am not very familiar with. I like telling stories of a hero whos status is not completely out of the ordinary. I like to follow along to a story that tells how an ordinary person is and can be a hero too.

7 Basic Plots

Pick two of these plot types that most interest you and write about them. Why does each of these plot types interest you? What makes them seem more interesting than the other ones? Which two of the plot lines out of the seven would you like to use for a future video project? Why?

1. Rags to Riches

This interests me because I see the biggest potential for character development in the plot. A character who lives a completely opposite life (in poverty) suddenly changing the lifestyle with wealth, power, and a mate seems to be able to leave room for the character to grow. 

2. Comedy

This interests me because compared to the other plot lines that inevitably create heroic movies, it contains humorous aspects to it. The hint of dramatic conflict in the middle is a nice addition to the otherwise completely light hearted plot.

Of the two, I will most likely use the comedy plot line because the other plot lines require a longer length to develop. It has the most potential to be found in a good student film.